Author: Wendy Wisner

What does it mean to be pessimistic? Well, I come from a long line of pessimists and can tell you. Being pessimistic means that you tend to see the worst parts of things or think the worst will happen. A pessimistic person is one who is often seen as lacking hope and joy and is marked by disbelief or distrust. Basically, to be pessimistic means expecting the worst in all situations. Continue reading Is Being Pessimistic Always a Bad Thing?

We all have our own story. Maybe you watched the news unfold on TV in your college dorm room, shaking and sobbing. Maybe you heard the news spread through the halls of your elementary school, feeling confused and scared, longing to go home. Or maybe you listened to the car radio while driving to work, feeling numb from the shock.

How do you feel when you look at a honeycomb, a spotted animal, an open pomegranate, or the little bubbles that form in your morning latte? For most of us, we feel nothing in particular. But for someone with trypophobia, a phobia of holes, images that contain tightly clustered holes may elicit strong feelings of fear, disgust, or panic. Continue reading What is Trypophobia?

Have you ever had an experience where you see yourself doing something you know you shouldn’t be doing — a behavior that you yourself don’t support or condone — but you find yourself doing it anyway?

Cognitive dissonance is that disconnect between what we believe and what we do — it’s an experience we all have at one time or another. While it can be uncomfortable and stressful to act in a way that feels contrary to what we believe, it’s a common experience. In a way, living with a little cognitive dissonance is simply part of being human. Continue reading What Is Cognitive Dissonance?

Traditional, brick-and-mortar therapy is a wonderful thing, and can be incredibly healing when you are working through a mental health challenge. I personally benefited from ten years of brick-and-mortar therapy and recommend it highly. However, I’ve been in online therapy for almost three years, and have also fallen in love with the experience.

They are suddenly away from all they have ever known or are familiar with, and must navigate this new landscape virtually on their own. Seemingly overnight, college students become responsible for everything from waking themselves up for class, to managing their money, to dealing with sometimes dicey social situations. Continue reading Mental Health Safety Tips for Your College Teen

My first therapist was like a parent to me. I started seeing her when I was 23 years old, and didn’t stop seeing her until almost a decade later. Over those 10 years, I grew up in more ways than one. I finally confronted the traumas of my childhood, I began to get a grip on my panic and anxiety disorder, and I explored what it meant to come full circle and start a family of my own.

I’d had a few therapists before her, but none had lasted more than a few months. She was the first therapist I trusted, which was why I ended up seeing her for so long. She made me feel seen. She called me on my B.S. in ways that felt comfortable and constructive. She helped illuminate the ways I’d been mistreated as a child. I was finally able to own some of the pain I’d experienced — pain I’d never had an outlet to safely process. Continue reading What Happened When I Stopped Going to Therapy?

Back to school can be a stressful time for anyone, but when you’re sending your child off to college — especially if this is your first time — you are likely feeling many mixed emotions, from fear to sadness to amazement. After all, this is your baby, and you are sending them off into the world without you. It may feel like there is so much at stake, and even though you have been preparing for this moment since your child was born, it can feel like a gut-punch when it actually happens. Continue reading How to Master Back to School Season With Your College Student

As we make our way through our grown-up lives, we don’t always consider how the first few years of childhood might still be affecting us. Yet according to attachment theory, our earliest experiences — most notably, our earliest relationships — have a profound and lasting effect on all aspects of our lives, in terms of our personalities, mental health struggles, and adult relationships. Continue reading What is Attachment Theory?

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